HIV and other viral infections are one leading cause of death. HIV is a disease in which a virus is replicated in the body which attacks the body's immune system. The HIV virus is not easily destroyed nor is there a good mechanism for keeping the host cells from replicating the virus. Herpes Simplex is another viral infection which is difficult, if not impossible, to cure. A method of treating these diseases and other viral infections is highly desirable. A material which targets the HIV virus and inhibit viral replication is highly desirable.
Several drugs have been approved for treatment of this devastating disease, including azidovudine (AZT), didanosine (dideoxyinosine, ddI), d4T, zalcitabine (dideoxycytosine, ddC), nevirapine, lamivudine (epivir, 3TC), saquinavir (Invirase), ritonavir (Norvir), indinavir (Crixivan), and delavirdine (Rescriptor). See M. I. Johnston & D. F. Hoth, Science, 260(5112), 1286-1293 (1993) and D. D. Richman, Science, 272(5270), 1886-1888 (1996 An AIDS vaccine (Salk's vaccine) has been tested and several proteins which are chemokines from CD8 have been discovered to act as HIV suppressors. In addition to the above synthetic nucleoside analogs, proteins, and antibodies, several plants and substances derived from plants have been found to have in vitro anti-HIV activity. However, HIV virus is not easily destroyed nor is there a good mechanism for keeping the host cells from replicating the virus.
Thus, medical professionals continue to search for drugs that can prevent HIV infections, treat HIV carriers to prevent them from progressing to full-blown deadly AIDS, and treat the AIDS patient.
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2 are persistent viruses that commonly infect humans; they cause a variety of troubling human diseases. HSV type 1 causes oral "fever blisters" (recurrent herpes labialis), and HSV type 2 causes genital herpes, which has become a major venereal disease in many parts of the world. No fully satisfactory treatment for genital herpes currently exists. In addition, although it is uncommon, HSV can also cause encephalitis, a life-threatening infection of the brain. (The Merck Manual, Holvey, Ed., 1972; Whitley, Herpes Simplex Viruses, In: Virology, 2nd Ed., Raven Press (1990)). A most serious HSV-caused disorder is dendritic keratitis, an eye infection that produces a branched lesion of the cornea, which can in turn lead to permanent scarring and loss of vision. Ocular infections with HSV are a major cause of blindness. HSV is also a virus which is difficult, if not impossible to cure.
Hepatitis is a disease of the human liver. It is manifested with inflammation of the liver and is usually caused by viral infections and sometimes from toxic agents. Hepatitis may progress to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, and eventually death. Several viruses such as hepatitis A, B, C, D, E and G are known to cause various types of viral hepatitis. Among them, HBV and HCV are the most serious. HBV is a DNA virus with avirion size of 42 nm. HCV is a RNA virus with a virion size of 30-60 nm. See D. S. Chen, J. Formos. Med. Assoc., 95(1), 6-12 (1996).
Hepatitis C infects 4 to 5 times the number of people infected with HIV. Hepatitis C is difficult to treat and it is estimated that there are 500 million people infected with it worldwide (about 15 time those infected with HIV). No effective immunization is currently available, and hepatitis C can only be controlled by other preventive measures such as improvement in hygiene and sanitary conditions and interrupting the route of transmission. At present, the only acceptable treatment for chronic hepatitis C is interferon which requires at least six (6) months of treatment and or ribavarin which can inhibit viral replication in infected cells and also improve liver function in some people. Treatment with interferon with or without Ribavarin however has limited long term efficacy with a response rate about 25%.
Hepatitis B virus infection lead to a wide spectrum of liver injury. Moreover, chronic hepatitis B infection has been linked to the subsequent development of hepatocellular carcinoma, a major cause of death. Current prevention of HBV infection is a hepatitis B vaccination which is therapeutically effective. However, vaccination is not effective in treating those already infected (i.e., carriers and patients). Many drugs have been used in treating chronic hepatitis B and none have been proven to be effective, except interferon.
Treatment of HCV and HBV with interferon has limited success and has frequently been associated with adverse side effects such as fatigue, fever, chills, headache, myalgias, arthralgias, mild alopecia, psychiatric effects and associated disorders, autoimmune phenomena and associated disorders and thyroid dysfunction.
Because the interferon therapy has limited efficacy and frequent adverse effects, a ore effective regimen is needed.